Baking Gluten-Free Is a Piece of Cake
Summer Yellow Cake
by CAROL FENSTER , Ph.D.

A slice of delicious yellow cake will bring summer sunshine into everyone’s day—and you don’t have to miss out just because you can’t eat wheat or milk. This tasty Summer Yellow Cake is wheat-free, gluten-free, and dairy-free, and it can also be made without refined sugar—all with excellent results. It’s guaranteed to bake up beautifully.

There’s a good chance this cake will become the most-used recipe in your kitchen. It is extremely versatile and can be the basis for a variety of successful desserts, including picnic cupcakes, child’s birthday cake, an elegant layer cake, an impressive loaf cake, even Boston cream pie. All you need is a little creativity.

Here’s how you can use this basic Summer Yellow Cake to create a delicious pineapple-upside down cake, a fun summer sheet cake, and a delectable strawberry shortcake.

These never-fail desserts are sure to please everyone in your household, and no one will ever suspect they’re wheat-free. Carol Fenster, Ph.D. is founder and president of Savory Palate, Inc., a publishing company that specializes in recipes and information for special diets. Her two cookbooks, Special Diet Solutions: Healthy Cooking Without Wheat, Gluten, Dairy, Eggs, Yeast, or Refined Sugar and the award-winning Wheat-Free Recipes and Menus, are available in natural food stores and on the Internet.

Click Here For Basic Summer Yellow Cake Recipe and Ideas

Let Them Eat Cake!
Baking Without Wheat or Dairy
Baking a cake without conventional ingredients like wheat flour and milk is not difficult--it's just different. There are several additional ingredients (such as xanthan gum and potato starch) that you won't find in a regular cake recipe, but it only takes a few more seconds to measure them out and add them to the mix. Certain gluten- free ingredients cost somewhat more than their conventional counterparts, but it's a small price to pay for being able to eat delicious cake and maintain your good health. Bakery goods usually contain wheat, eggs, milk, sugar, and a leavening agent.

Each ingredient plays a unique role in producing tasty, pleasingly textured results. Baking without wheat flour produces a somewhat heavier and denser cake because the missing gluten can't establish a cell structure in which the leavening agent does its job. However, using xanthan gum helps alleviate this situation to the extent that many people can't distinguish between the same cake made with or without wheat flour.

Using milk substitutes is easy and usually has a minimal impact on the final product. In fact, most non-dairy milks can be used interchangeably with cow's milk in baking. Each type of milk has subtle taste differences and may produce slight variations in the finished product. For example, soy milk may darken the product during baking, and rice milk can be somewhat thin, so you may want to reduce the amount by 1 to 2 tablespoons. Decide which type of milk you prefer, and stick with it. Be sure it doesn't contain problem ingredients, such as casein (a milk protein) or barley malt extract (which is wheat-related).

Understanding Your Ingredients
Potato Starch
A fine, white powder made from the starch of potatoes, this ingredient adds a light, airy texture to baked goods. It has excellent baking properties, particularly when combined with eggs. Potato starch is very white in color, bland in flavor, and it lumps easily, so be sure to stir it before measuring. You'll find it in the flour section of natural food stores. Store potato starch in an air-tight container in a cool, dry, dark place. Don't confuse potato starch with potato flour, which is a heavy, dense flour made from dried, ground potatoes and their skins. Potato flour is used very infrequently in wheat-free cooking.

Rice Flour
One of the least allergenic of all flours, rice flour is the most common flour used in wheat-free and gluten-free baking. It is available in white and brown. White rice flour has had the rice kernel stripped of most of its nutrients. Brown rice flour, which contains more layers of the rice kernel, is more nutritious. You can find rice flour in the baking or bulk sections of natural food stores and some supermarkets. Store rice flour in an air-tight container in a cool, dry, dark place. The refrigerator or freezer will extend its shelf life. White rice flour is a bit dry and gritty by itself, but it works fine when combined with other flours. It should comprise about 2/3 of the total flour used in your recipe. The coarser the grind of the flour, the more liquid needed. Brown rice flour is also dry and gritty. It produces an off-white color in baked goods and has a mild flavor. Brown rice flour has a somewhat shorter shelf life than white rice flour due to the higher oil content in the rice bran. Store in the refrigerator or freezer.

Tapioca Flour
Made from the cassava plant, tapioca flour is a fine, white flour that adds chewiness and elasticity to baked goods. It is sold in natural food stores in packages or bulk form.

Carol Fenster's Tips For Baking Without Wheat Making cakes and other baked goods without wheat flour requires a little bit of know-how. Here are some guidelines for successful wheat-free baking. Substitute rice, bean, potato starch, and tapioca flour for wheat flour. combination of two or three flours works better than a single flour. Ingredients like xanthan gum, soy lecithin, and gelatin can restore texture and appearance of baked goods. More leavening helps raise gluten-free batter, and more flavorings, such as vanilla and grated lemon peel, can restore flavor. Sometimes larger loaf pans (such as 9 x 5-inch) do not cook evenly. Smaller pans (5 x 21⁄2-inch) work better for gluten-free baking because the heat reaches the center of the pan more quickly. Use nonstick pans rather than shiny, aluminum pans for better baking results. Sift dry ingredients after measuring to remove unmilled grains or foreign particles. To measure dry ingredients, use dry measuring cups or spoons and level the top off with a straight-edged knife. Don't pack the flour into the cup or spoon. Use liquid measuring cups for liquids. Use standardized measuring cups and spoons from a reputable manufacturer for consistent results.